You heard from Mike yesterday that his knee pretty much gave up the ghost after a brutal few days. Hard stages at the ABSA Cape Epic, made harder by the conditions, and also by being raced aggressively. Go hard or go home, right? It was a tough call for Mike to make, but the right […]
Archives for March 2012
ABSA Cape Epic: What do you roll?
Mountain biking is such a diverse sport now, with down hill, free ride, all mountain, dirt jump, street, XCO, XCM, Stage Racing, Short Track… what happened to just riding? The huge diversification of the sport has lead to amazing product development, and very deep ranges from a broad spectrum of manufacturers. This week, the level […]
Plain sailing for Sauser and Stander in a wet Cape Epic stage
Burry Stander (RSA) and Christoph Sauser (SUI) of the 36One-Songo-Specialized team showed just what complete mountain bike racers they are when they overcame wet, cold and muddy conditions to win Stage 5 of the 2012 ABSA Cape Epic on Friday. It was their fifth stage win in six days, but it will go down as […]
BC Bike Race sold out for 2012
Organisers of Canada’s BC Bike Race have announced that the 2012 edition has been sold out. Registration for 2013 will open July 8, one day after the completion of this year’s event. In its sixth year BC Bike Race has once again reached 100% capacity, all 500 participants will start the race on July 1, […]
ABSA Cape Epic: And then there was one
Stage Racing encompasses many ups and downs, and Stage 5 of the 2012 ABSA Cape Epic today showcased some of the downs, especially for the Subaru-MarathonMTB.com Team. The previous night in Caledon had been abysmal, by Cape Epic standards. Gale force winds combined with rain and cold temperatures to heavily dampen the camp, and then […]
G’day from the USA: South to east to west
Hello Legends!! It is nearly clicking over to 2 months USA time now for me and I sit here writing in an armchair with Starbucks complete with ‘creamer’ next to my portable computer, I feel as though I am absorbing many more traits of American culture day by day… Since I last wrote I have […]
CamelBak Magic: smart, soft and girl shaped
The compact, women’s specific CamelBak Magic looks like it’s made for mountain biking. It’s snug, low profile, and has enough space to stash everything you need for a part-day ride. The women’s fit means it stays glued to the female form on the trails. And the snazzy range of colours on offer makes riding more […]
ABSA Cape Epic: The toughest day?
It isn’t always the longest days with most climbing that are the hardest. That’s the main lesson from today. At “only” 105k and 2600m of climbing, it was shorter than the previous three stages, with a chunk less climbing and almost a third less distance than yesterday’s queen stage. It was also considerably cooler than […]
ABSA Cape Epic: Your 5 Senses
Stage racing offers a lot to people who choose to pursue some of the World’s best Mountain Bike Stage Races. It is difficult to share the entirety of the experience, but there are some things that are easy to relate to: our five senses. Many of these will relate directly to Marathon Mountain Biking too, […]
Sauser and Stander serve up more hurt at Cape Epic
South African Burry Stander and his Swiss teammate, Christoph Sauser (36One-Songo-Specialized) tightened their grip on the 2012 ABSA Cape Epic on Thursday when they won the 105km Stage 4 and extended their overall lead. The dust-coated teammates cruised across the finish line with broad grins in a time of four hours 42 minutes 49 seconds, […]